Rules

F:AT is a volunteer site. It is not a business. Nobody profits directly from F:AT. F:AT exists because individuals have generously devoted personal time to it. This is time that they could have spent earning money, enjoying their families, supporting charities, etc. Individuals volunteer their time to F:AT out of a genuine desire to provoke intelligent discussion and to make this a site that others can enjoy. They're proud of this place.

F:AT is provided as a free service to anyone that wishes to use it. Monetary donations are greatly appreciated, but entirely voluntary. Everyone is invited to use the site without financial obligation.

F:AT is a user-driven site. Every registered member is invited to submit content in the form of articles, comments, blog entries, and posts to the Trash Talk forums. All points of view will be given a fair hearing. If you want to talk about something that isn't being discussed, strike up a conversation.

Because F:AT is a non-commercial, user-driven site that is open to new ideas, no matter how uncomfortable, F:AT has always pursued a non-intrusive moderation policy. We strive to avoid locking forum threads or banning users from the site. Most of the users of F:AT are sane adults, and we wish to treat them that way. We prefer to deal with conflicts on the forums through reasoned, open, discussion.

Our non-intrusive moderation philosophy is a hell of a way to run a website, but it's what the F:AT community wants. To ensure that this site continues to work, users must recognize that this is their site and that implies that they have responsibilities to it. In particular: don't shit on people who are volunteering their time to make this a better place. Don't bitch about "censorship" on the forums, because there isn't any. If you're going to be a troll, at least do it in a funny and interesting way. Don't be boring.

If you disagree with any opinion that is expressed on this site, you should absolutely explain the reasons for your disagreement. This community has a voracious appetite for new ideas and new points of view. We're interested in what you have to say. However, disparaging a person, idea, opinion, or the site as a whole without explaining the reasoning behind the disparagement is stupid. Explain your negative opinions so that each of us can weigh their merit for ourselves. If you can't do that, you should keep your negative opinions to yourself.

Learn to use this site before bitching about it. The architecture of this site has been considered *very* carefully. Understand as well that it was built by volunteers with a very limited budget. We are grateful to receive bug reports and suggestions for improvement -- and we assure you that these will be addressed as quickly as possible -- but please recognize that such things take time, are not always technically feasible, and may be outside the scope of F:AT.

Most of us don't care about your personal vendetta with someone else that uses the site. F:AT provides a personal messaging system. Use it. Don't fight out feuds on the forums or in article and blog comments.

Don't hijack threads. Don't Spam the site. Don't bitch about people that aren't here to defend themselves. Don't complain all the time about other websites.

Any action or behavior that is illegal, including, but not limited to, hate speech, libel, threats, harassment and the the posting of adult content, as well as any action or behavior that disrupts the normal purpose or function of this site is prohibited and subject to administrative action, removal and/or moderation without warning.